Tourism

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered an ancient workshop which was used to build and repair ships in the Sinai Peninsula، Express website reported.

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities have released a picture of the ancient workshop، which would have been used to build and repair ships in the Ptolemaic era. Ptolemaic Egypt began when a follower of Alexander the Great Ptolemy declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of Queen Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The ministry has said excavations took place in the Tel Abu Saifi archeological site in Northern Sinai.

The site was the location of the Roman fortress of Silla.

The River Nile was the main highway of Ancient Egypt and boats were used to carry everything، from grains to live cattle.

The earliest boats were moved using oars and were made from bundles of papyrus reeds tied tightly together.

The secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities has said that the workshop includes two dry dockyards where ships were built or repaired.

The Greco-Roman period in Egypt spans from its fall to Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC to the Islamic conquest in the 7th century.

Egypt is hoping that this discovery will encourage more tourism which have taken a knocking following the 2011 uprising.

Last week archaeologists discovered 50 mummies at a communal tomb in Minya، south of Ciaro، dating back to the Ptolemic era.

The antiquities ministry revealed that the mummies included adults، 12 children and six animals in a crumbling underground chamber.